AP Arizona

Lawyers for prisoner say he’s mentally unfit to be executed

Published April 11, 2022 3:40 PM

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Attorneys for a prisoner scheduled to become the first person to be executed in Arizona in nearly eight years is making another bid to try to stop his execution. The attorneys for Clarence Dixon argued their client’s psychological problems keep him from rationally understanding why the state wants to end his life. A Pinal County judge concluded defense lawyers had shown reasonable grounds for appointing mental health experts to examine Dixon and for planning a court hearing over whether he’s competent to be executed in the 1977 killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin. Dixon’s execution is scheduled for May 11.

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